


The Hard Drive

by KeepsakeCat



Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-20 20:08:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4800620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeepsakeCat/pseuds/KeepsakeCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mattie gets pulled into a complicated series of events when she gets a confusing message from Leo.<br/>ABANDONED (for now!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first post! I hope you enjoy it :)  
> Please feel free to leave feedback in the comments

Mattie had spent the evening slumped over her laptop, studying Head Crack and other such websites. Her new goal, which had stayed the same since Leo and his sibling left, was to become a fully accomplished head cracker. So far she had spent every spare moment she had devoted to this goal and had improved significantly. Her computer grades at school had increased from a D to a B, but she still dreaded taking her A levels in a few months. 

Her phone pinged and she picked it up, expecting it to be Harun. It wasn't. 

Leo- 7:46 PM  
"Our friend need help. Meet me at the place where we discovered the tree in 30 mins. Please come and bring the flash drive. "

She realised that she had been holding her breath while reading this text and let it out. After waiting a month for some kind of sign, it was finally here. Her ticket to freedom. 

10 minutes later she was walking down the stairs to the front door. Getting the drive had been difficult but after a few minutes of looking she's found it under Laura's clothes. She left a breif note on her bed, letting her family know where she was going and how to contact her. 

If it wasn't for the Persona booklets lying unused in the drawer, no one would've known the Hawkins family had ever had a synth. Their shoes were piled messily next to the door, the same way they were before they'd got Anita. It felt like years ago to Mattie, even though it was only a matter of months.

Mattie pulled on her walking boots as quietly as she could, then crept to the door. She opened it, accidentally pulling it too hard and making a complete racket.   
"Joe?" She heard from the kitchen. The sound of her mums voice caused a jolt in her stomach. She paused a moment before stepping through the door and closing it behind her. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another bad chapter... I'm going to try and upload every 2 nights.   
> Don't hold me to that though!  
> Hope you enjoy :)

It took her almost 17 minutes to get to the St Mary Magdalene's church. Throughout the journey Mattie was waiting nervously by the door to the tube train, and each second seemed to take an eternity to her. She sprinted off the carriage as soon as the doors crawled open and didn't stop until she reached the crypt. 

"Leo?" She panted causiously. "Are you there?"  
She heard heavy boots scrape across the floor as a scruffy young man appeared around one of the pillars. He had curly, coal black hair and bright blue eyes. His angular face, which should've looked relaxed and carefree from his age, was as drawn and creased as a middle aged man. His wrinkles were not from smiles or laughter; they were the product of too much pain and worry for someone so young. 

He was joined by Max, the youngest of Leo's siblings. He carried on his lips his signature smile that he always wore, even when things got bad. 

"Have you got the drive?" Leo asked. This was not the kind of welcome Mattie was expecting. Her temper flared a little but she stayed calm. 

"Of course," she replied. "Why do yo-"  
Mia walked in, but with every step Mattie could tell there was something really wrong with her.   
"Hello Matilda-a. D-do you n-n-eed me to-oo dri-" and at that moment she powered down, her head hitting her chest. 

"I thought you'd got rid of the Anita code?" Mattie inquired. The two had spent hours trying to save Mia from the dominant code that had been installed in her. Eventually they'd managed to destroy the code- or so they thought.

"I don't know what happened. I thought I had too but we must've missed something. I've tried everything but Mia's retreated too far inside this time. This is the only thing I can think of."   
He sounded tired, and yawned every few minutes. Mattie imagined him staying up all through the night, trying to get his mother back. 

Mattie unzipped her bag, and took out the flash drive. She passed it to Leo who connected it to his laptop. Max steered Mia next to the computer and put the wire in her. 

When Leo opened the flash drive helmet out a string of curses while his eyes got bigger and bigger.   
"It's corrupted. "  
"What?" Mattie asked at exactly the same time as Max. 

"It's not right, Mattie. The program. It’s broken. "


	3. Chapter 3

Leo put his head in his hands, and it looked for a second as if he was going to cry. Then he stood up and kicked a wall. 

"I knew there was something up when Niska gave away the drive!" He shouted. His face was twisted with anger. "We have to find her!"

"I want to get Mia back too, Leo, I really do, but I think that you should rest first." Mattie said. "I can tell you didn't sleep last night, and I promise that you'll feel better when you hav-"  
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE!" Leo screamed. Mattie was taken aback by this sudden outburst but she stayed with her original idea.   
"No, but I know things are better in the morning." She said firmly.   
"I agree, Leo." Max said. "And I'm also only at 12%, so we'd have to stop anyway."

Leo stood there fuming for a second, then said "Fine. But we're moving as soon as we can. You can go now, Mattie."  
"I'm not going. You need help with her," she gestured to Mia lying in a heap on the floor, " and I won't be a nuisance, I promise."   
They argued for a few minutes, but Mattie was as stubborn as usual and eventually Leo let her stay. 

After conducting a quick search on a database they found an abandoned house nearby. Leo decided to keep Mia turned off, as she'd attract too much attention with her slurred words. Max carried her as they made their way through Paddington. 

The house had a thick layer of dust which caused both humans to sneeze several times, but other than that it was perfectly nice. Maybe the reception room was a little on the small size, but no one was complaining. After a short supper of energy bars Max plugged himself and Mia in to charge, and Mattie and Leo cleaned a tiny alcove of the room to put their sleeping bags down. 

Within a few minutes Mattie could hear heavy breathing coming from Leo's sleeping bag next to her, but her mind was too full of the day to sleep. When she did finally fall into a slumber, her mind was filled with creepy visions that were definitely more than dreams.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently found this unfinished fic again and realised I had a couple of chapters that were unfinished. I decided to publish them anyway.

Mattie woke with a start. Her breathing slowed down as she repeated to herself 'it was just a nightmare. It wasn't real' over and over again. It was the middle of the night, and the house felt a lot creepier than it had several hours earlier when they'd layed down to rest. 

The room was filled with the darkness of the night, and visions of her nightmare kept creeping around in the pitch black. At that moment all she wanted was to be comforted like she was when she was younger.   
She couldn’t quite figure out who’s face it was that had haunted her sleep, and even picturing it had become more and more difficult as the minutes had progressed.

A shuffling of blankets made her heart start racing in fear again. "Leo?" Mattie whispered into the night. She wasn't expecting a response, and when there wasn't an answer she shut her eyes to try and force the visions away. 

"Are you okay, Mattie?" 

Mattie's eyes sprang open. She gulped.   
"Yeah. Just had a nightmare, that's all."  
Leo sighed. "So did I. " he said quietly. His voice sounded thick and throaty.   
Mattie looked over to his shapeless sleeping bag and wondered, for a moment, whether his night-terror was the same as hers.  
Even as she thought it she knew it was impossible.

Leo's eyes seemed to be brighter than ever, and she could see the tear tracks glinting in the light from the glowing orb outside the window. She shuffled closer to him without thinking and he pulled away slightly. it was almost as if he was scared of her.

"I... I can't" Leo stuttered. He cowered away, his fear visible in his face. Mattie stopped moving forwards, confused by this sudden act of intense fear.   
"What's wrong, Leo?" She asked softly.   
"I'm sorry Mattie, I just... can't." He said, his voice trembling with terror.

Mattie sighed as she shuffled back to her original space. Leo was the kind of person that when one question is answered, twenty more are asked. Why is he scared of her? Why doesn't he trust humans? Mattie's mind was still whirring as she drifted slowly to sleep, her mind looking for answers it knew it didn't have. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I doubt that there will be anymore updates to this fic, but maybe with the release of season 2 I might be inspired again. Thank you for reading!


End file.
